Three senior leaders to assume expanded
roles reporting to Executive Chairman Glenn Murphy
lululemon athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU), the healthy lifestyle
inspired athletic apparel company, today announced that Laurent
Potdevin has resigned as CEO and as a member of the company’s Board
of Directors, effective immediately. lululemon expects all
employees to exemplify the highest levels of integrity and respect
for one another, and Mr. Potdevin fell short of these standards of
conduct. The Board of Directors has immediately begun a search
process for a proven and highly-experienced global Chief Executive
Officer.
“While this was a difficult and considered decision, the Board
thanks Laurent for his work in strengthening the company and
positioning it for the future,” said Glenn Murphy, Executive
Chairman of the Board. “Culture is at the core of lululemon, and it
is the responsibility of leaders to set the right tone in our
organization. Protecting the organization’s culture is one of the
Board’s most important duties.”
In his newly expanded role as Executive Chairman, Mr. Murphy
will focus on achieving long-term, sustainable results for all
stakeholders. Three of lululemon’s senior leaders are being
elevated and will take on additional responsibilities, reporting to
Mr. Murphy: Celeste Burgoyne, Executive Vice President, Americas,
will oversee all channel and brand-facing aspects of the global
business, including stores and e-commerce, as well as brand
marketing; Stuart Haselden, Chief Operating Officer, will have
responsibility for all operations related to finance, supply chain,
people, and technology; and Sun Choe, Senior Vice President of
Merchandising, will guide all aspects of product development,
design, innovation, and merchandising.
Mr. Murphy added, “The Board is entirely confident that Celeste,
Stuart and Sun – three leaders deeply tied to the recent momentum
in the business – can continue to execute on lululemon’s growth
strategy and drive global performance. Based upon their
contributions to the recent expansion of the business, their
history of collaboration with one another and their strong support
across the lululemon organization, we believe this trio of leaders
will take lululemon from strength to strength.”
Today, lululemon also reaffirmed its updated guidance provided
on January 8, 2018, that reflects the ongoing momentum of the
business. In addition, the company’s growth strategies remain on
track to achieve $4 billion in revenue in 2020. The company’s
continued success in the market it created is rooted in its strong
connection to its guests and vertically integrated business model;
embodiment of the active, mindful lifestyle; and
category-disrupting product innovation that blends fashion and
function.
Biographies
Glenn MurphyExecutive Chairman of the company, and
Chairman of the Board
Glenn Murphy has taken an active role in the strategic direction
of the company since joining the Board in 2017. He has more than 30
years of success leading retail organizations to grow and succeed.
He is the founder and CEO of FIS Holdings, a consumer-focused
investment firm deploying a combination of operating guidance and
capital flexibility. From 2007 to 2014, Mr. Murphy served as
Chairman and CEO at Gap Inc. during a period of global growth and
improved financial performance. Previously, Mr. Murphy served as
Chairman and CEO of Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation and held senior
leadership roles at Loblaw Companies.
Celeste BurgoyneExecutive Vice President, Americas
Celeste Burgoyne, Executive Vice President, Americas, will
continue to oversee all channel and customer-facing aspects of the
North American business, including stores and e-commerce, and will
now add oversight of the company’s international regions, as well
as brand marketing. Ms. Burgoyne joined lululemon in 2006 to lead
the U.S. expansion and has since held a series of roles of
expanding responsibility, including Senior Vice President, Retail,
North America where she was responsible for overseeing all Canadian
and U.S. retail. Celeste started her career with Abercrombie &
Fitch, where she held various leadership positions during her 10
years with the company.
Stuart HaseldenChief Operating Officer and Chief
Financial Officer
Stuart Haselden, Chief Operating Officer, will continue to
oversee all operations related to finance, supply chain, legal and
technology, and will now add oversight of our strategic planning
and people & culture functions. Stuart joined lululemon as
Chief Financial Officer in 2015. Prior to joining lululemon, his
career spans 15 years of executive leadership at global apparel
retailers, including Saks Incorporated and J. Crew Group, Inc.,
where he most recently served as Chief Financial Officer.
Sun ChoeSenior Vice President of Merchandising
Sun Choe, Senior Vice President of Merchandising, will continue
to oversee merchandising and will now add all aspects of product
design, innovation and development to her portfolio. She joined the
company in 2016 as Chief Global Product Merchant with extensive
experience in senior leadership roles at well-known brands,
including Madewell, West Elm and Urban Outfitters.
About lululemon athletica inc.
lululemon athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) is a healthy lifestyle
inspired athletic apparel company for yoga, running, training, and
most other sweaty pursuits, with products that create
transformational experiences for people to live happy, healthy, fun
lives. Setting the bar in technical fabrics and functional designs,
lululemon works with yogis and athletes in local communities for
continuous research and product feedback. For more information,
visit www.lululemon.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that
involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, such as statements
regarding our future financial condition or results of operations
and our prospects and strategies for future growth. In many cases,
you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "may,"
"will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "outlook,"
"believes," "intends," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or the
negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These
forward-looking statements also include our guidance and outlook
statements. These statements are based on management's current
expectations but they involve a number of risks and uncertainties.
Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially
from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a
result of risks and uncertainties, which include our ability to
identify and successfully attract a highly qualified successor to
our Chief Executive Officer and his or her future performance; the
length of time required to complete an executive search; and
cooperation by key parties during the Chief Executive Officer
transition process; as well as other risks and uncertainties
including, without limitation: changes in tax laws, such as U.S.
tax reform enacted in December 2017, or unanticipated tax
liabilities; our ability to maintain the value and reputation of
our brand; the acceptability of our products to our guests; our
highly competitive market and increasing competition; our reliance
on and limited control over third-party suppliers to provide
fabrics for and to produce our products; an economic downturn or
economic uncertainty in our key markets; increasing product costs
and decreasing selling prices; our ability to anticipate consumer
preferences and successfully develop and introduce new, innovative
and updated products; our ability to accurately forecast guest
demand for our products; our ability to safeguard against security
breaches with respect to our information technology systems; any
material disruption of our information systems; our ability to have
technology-based systems function effectively and grow our
e-commerce business globally; the fluctuating costs of raw
materials; our ability to expand internationally in light of our
limited operating experience and limited brand recognition in new
international markets; our ability to deliver our products to the
market and to meet guest expectations if we have problems with our
distribution system; imitation by our competitors; our ability to
protect our intellectual property rights; our ability to manage our
growth and the increased complexity of our business effectively;
our ability to cancel store leases if an existing or new store is
not profitable; our ability to source our merchandise profitably or
at all if new trade restrictions are imposed or existing trade
restrictions become more burdensome; increasing labor costs and
other factors associated with the production of our products in
South and South East Asia; our ability to comply with trade and
other regulations; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;
higher than anticipated costs and our ability to realize the
benefits associated with the restructuring of our ivivva business;
conflicting trademarks and the prevention of sale of certain
products; our exposure to various types of litigation; and other
risks and uncertainties set out in filings made from time to time
with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and
available at www.sec.gov, including, without limitation, our most
recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. You are urged to
consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking
statements contained herein and are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are qualified in
their entirety by these cautionary statements. The forward-looking
statements made herein speak only as of the date of this press
release and we undertake no obligation to publicly update such
forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or
circumstances, except as may be required by law.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180205005937/en/
Investors:Howard Tubinhtubin@lululemon.com(604)
732-6124orICR, IncJoseph Teklits/Caitlin
Morahan203-682-8200orMedia:Brunswick GroupShahed
Larson / Blake Sonnensheinslarson@brunswickgroup.com /
bsonnenshein@brunswickgroup.com(212) 333-3810
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